Fantasy NASCAR Picks for the Pocono 400

This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to the Tricky Triangle at Pocono Raceway.

Last week, Jimmie Johnson dominated the race at Dover, and so did my fantasy NASCAR team. 

I started Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin and Aric Almirola. The lineup was good enough for 349-points (3,851 total points for the season) and kept my team in the top 99 percent of Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing players (Ranked No. 687 overall out of 205,000).

Fantasy NASCAR players in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game will get to see two practices on Friday before their lineups will be due Saturday morning. This will make it much easier to select your team. Be sure to check out the practice times for each team after the practice sessions before you set your lineup.

Here are my picks for the Yahoo Fantasy Auto Racing game.

Yahoo Group A Drivers

Changes have been made to the race at Pocono this week, and the changes may affect who wins the race.

For the first time since 1995, the racetrack at Pocono received a new coat of asphalt. The drivers who dominated in the past will have to figure out the new racetrack.

For the first time in the history of NASCAR racing at Pocono, the race will be 400 miles instead of the traditional 500-mile race. This change factored into my Group A selection for the race.

Here are my selections for the Yahoo Group A:

Jeff Gordon

No, this is not a misprint. I did not mean to type Jimmie Johnson’s name here. I really believe Jeff Gordon is close to winning his first race of the summer. He has had some of the best cars all season, but the worst luck of any driver. He was close to putting it all together last week at Dover. The shortened race this week will provide less of a chance for something to go wrong for Gordon.

Gordon has been good at Pocono. In his 38 career races at Pocono, Gordon has five wins, 17 top-five finishes, 27 top-10 finishes, won two poles and led 7,179 laps. His average running position of 10.1 is third-best, average green flag speed of 158.996 mph is fourth-best and he has the second-most laps run in the top-15 with 2,063.

While the other fantasy NASCAR experts all predict Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, I am going against the grain. Selecting Gordon for your team will give you a chance to make up ground on your competition.

Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin is a safer pick then Gordon. I had a hard time deciding if Hamlin or Johnson should be in this position. I went with Hamlin for two reasons: 1) I have already used Johnson five times this season, and 2) Hamlin’s stats are a little bit better than Johnson’s at Pocono.

In his 12 career races at Pocono, Hamlin has four wins, seven top-five finishes, eight top-10 finishes, won two poles and led 2,288 laps. He has a series-best average running position of 8.3, series-best average green flag speed of 159.622 mph, series-high 409 fastest laps run and a series-best driver rating of 118.6.

Hamlin is the driver that should be on every fantasy NASCAR team this week.

Other good picks: Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski

Yahoo Group B Drivers

This week, there is no clear-cut favorite in Group B. Many drivers have good stats at Pocono, but no driver in Group B has been dominating at the racetrack. I found four drivers who I think will have success on Sunday. (Remember not to select Kurt Busch this week. He is suspended from the race.)

Here are my selections for Yahoo Group B:

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is having a career year in 2012. He has a series-high 10 top-10 finishes so far this season. He should be able to make it No. 11 on Sunday.

In his 24 career starts at Pocono, Earnhardt has five top-five finishes, eight top-10 finishes, won one pole and led 98 laps. In the two races last year at Pocono, Earnhardt finished both races in the top-10. I think he will finish in the top-five this year.

Mark Martin

I used Mark Martin last week, and it paid off. Martin captured the pole for the race and 10 bonus points for my team. He ran in the top 10 until the end of the race, when he came in the pits for four tires. He has had success at Pocono and should qualify inside the top five and finish inside the top 10.

Martin has started 50 races at Pocono. He has 19 top-five finishes, 33 top-10 finishes, won three poles and led 9,323 laps. Martin’s average running position of 12.3 is seventh-best, and his 1,900 laps run in the top-15 are the seventh-most.

If Martin qualifies up front for the Pocono 400, he will be worth starting on your team.

Ryan Newman

Newman has had an up-and-down season in 2012. Fantasy NASCAR players must use Newman at the right times during the season to ensure they get the most points out of him. This would be a good week to have Newman on your team.

In his 20 career starts at Pocono, Newman has one win, seven top-five finishes, nine top-10 finishes, won two poles and led 3,839 laps. His average running position of 11.3 is fifth-best, his 2,046 laps in the top 15 are the third-most and Newman has a series-high 657 green flag passes.

Newman is worth having on your team this week because he has a great chance to win the pole for the race.

Kasey Kahne

Kasey Kahne has been on fire the past month. If that is not enough of a reason to put him on your team, the fact that Kahne was one of the drivers who competed in the Goodyear tire test this week at Pocono should be.

In his 16 career starts at Pocono, Kahne has one win, three top-five finishes, five top-10 finishes, won two poles and led 3,108 laps. His 161 fastest laps run are the fifth-best, and his 1,186 green flag passes are fifth-best.

Kahne will be able to finish in the top 10 once again this week.

Other good picks: Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex, Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya

Yahoo Group C Drivers

This week, there is not much to choose from in Group C. Usually, there is a good driver entered into the race that fantasy NASCAR players can use. Drivers such as Trevor Bayne, Michael Waltrip, Brian Vickers and Danica Patrick have entered the race and provided fantasy players another option for their team. That is not the case this week.

Here are my selections for Yahoo Group C:

Aric Almirola

Aric Almirola has been the class of the field in Group C. Last week, he ran in the top 10 the entire race. Fantasy NASCAR players must be careful when to use Almirola. Since each driver can only be used nine times, it will be important to only use Almirola when there is a good chance he will finish in the top 10.

I am selecting Almirola for my team for qualifying purposes only. I hope he can qualify in one of the top-four positions and earn bonus points for my team.

Almirola has never raced in the Sprint Cup Series at Pocono, but last week was his first race at Dover as well. Look how that raced turned out for him (finished sixth). Almirola’s equipment is too good for him to struggle in the race. He will qualify well and run in the top 15, but I will save him for another week.

David Reutimann

David Reutimann will be the Group C driver that I start this week. Reutimann is moving out of the No. 10 car to drive the No. 51 car for Phoenix Racing. The spot in the No. 51 car became available when Kurt Busch was suspended.

The opportunity to drive the No. 51 car will give Reutimann a chance to use equipment for superior to what he was using at Tommy Baldwin Racing. I would not be surprised to see Reutimann finish in the top 15.

Other good picks: Bobby Labonte and David Ragan

Pocono Raceway Facts

Last Sprint Cup race: August 7, 2011 won by Jeff Gordon

Won from the pole: 13 times, last by Tony Stewart in 2009

Won from top-five starting position: 42 times (62 percent)

Won from top-10 starting position: 48 times (71 percent)

Won from 21st or worse starting position: four times (six percent)

Wins by active manufactures in last 10 years: Chevy (eight), Ford (five), Toyota (two), Dodge (five)

Best average finish and driver rating by active driver in last four races at Pocono
1. Jimmie Johnson 5.75 average	116.9 driver rating
2. Kevin Harvick 6.75 average	100.5 driver rating
3. Kyle Busch 7.50 average	109.5 driver rating
4. Tony Stewart 9.25 average	93.9 driver rating
5. Denny Hamlin 10.00 average	124.0 driver rating
6. Ryan Newman 10.00 average	91.2driver rating
7. Jeff Gordon 11.25 average	109.6driver rating
8. Jeff Burton 13.00 average	94.1driver rating
9.Paul Menard 13.25 average	76.6 driver rating
10.  Martin Truex Jr. 14.00 average	78.9 driver rating
11.  Clint Bowyer 14.00 average	89.9driver rating
12.  Carl Edwards 14.25 average	93.5 driver rating
13.  Matt Kenseth 14.75 average	78.2 driver rating
14.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. 15.25 average	87.0 driver rating
15.  Juan Pablo Montoya 15.75 average	90.4 driver rating
16.  Greg Biffle 16.0 average	86.1 driver rating
17.  Brad Keselowski 16.25 average	78.7 driver rating
18.  Mark Martin 16.75 average	79.5 driver rating
19.  David Reutimann 17.25 average	71.6 driver rating
20.  Joey Logano 18.75 average	85.2 driver rating

* Driver ratings include: Finish, average running position, average speed and number of fastest laps

*Stats courtesy of NASCAR Media Department.

My Fantasy Live team this week is: Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Paul Menard and David Reutimann

Good luck this week!

If you need any further advice with your team, look for me on Twitter @HuskerMagic.

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Chad’s Fantasy NASCAR Picks